Osprey sighting - The Esplanade, Speers Point

Adult Osprey perched on a streetlight, The Esplanade, Speers Point 

It was a very unseasonably warm day, reaching 39 degrees in Maitland.  There was not a cloud in the sky, and it was intense.  I was driving home from work late this afternoon, mind wandering pleasantly, air-con at full-blast in the ute, heading south along the shores of beautiful Lake Macquarie.

With a start, my reverie was interrupted.  I jarred upright in the seat and rapidly pulled over, out of the angry home-bound traffic.  I had noticed one of our more interesting birds of prey - an Osprey - perched on a street lamp above The Esplanade, Speers Point, one of the busier areas of the Lake.  

The Osprey didn't care about the hundreds of cars roaring past only 20 metres below.  As happens so often with raptors, complete indifference changed into alert wariness as soon as I walked within 50 metres of the light pole.  The bird would have watched me with near total indifference if I'd been able to stay in the car, but there was no way I could pull over near the bird and reversing back to it was completely out of the question.   

Moments after the first image was taken, the bird took off, flying south east, hugging the water's edge around the next headland, disappearing towards Warners Bay.  I had hoped to walk past the osprey, and take a few images with the sun behind me.  But sometimes you just have to make do with what you can get.  This was one of those moments.  

     

Osprey heading towards Warners Bay, late in the afternoon 19/11/2015.